Tomato-peeler.



No. 783,573. PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905. G. G. GLENN.

TUMATO PEELER.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 2, 1904.

Jnvenfm Patented February 28, 1905,.

tfirEORG-E (,lRAllAM (JiLENN, ()F l-lANllfJlQN, CANADA, AStilG-NOR OF ONE HALF TO lVlLLlAM G. LUMSDEN, O1 l-i1 \l\ llL'l(,)N, UANl-U)A.

TOlVlATCWWEt -LMEIW.

EPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,573, dated February 28, 1905.

Applicati fil d January 2, 1904;. Serial No. 187,452,

To all 'IUII/O'IH/ it may concern.-

Be it known that I ,Gnone 1c (iRAII'AM GLENN, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at the city of llamilton, in the county of l/Vent- 5 worth, in the Province of Ontario, Canada,

haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in Tomato-Peelers; and ldo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the CODSiJILlClJlOI'l and op- IO oration of the same.

The invention relates to further improvements in machines of the class specified; and it consists mainly in such mechanism as will be found more simple and at the same time 15 more durable in operation and economical to man ufacture.

My present invention has for its object such construction and operating mechanism as will easily and effectively remove the skins from 2 tomatoes and at the same time remove the core and unripe parts of the fruit previous to the operation of canning the same.

Reference being made to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that Figure l is a side 2 5 elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of one of the geared rims to which the wire-mesh separator is attached. Fig. 4: is an end view of the same. Fig. 5 is 3 an end view of the separator and cross-section of its cleaning-scraper. Fig. 8 is a side view of supporting-collars and their shaft detached.

, In the drawings, A A represent two frame ends which support the various parts of the 35 machine and are fixed to a base-frame A, and B isa cylindrical wire-mesh separator fastened to two annular rims (J U at each end, respectively, of the machine and is made to revolve loosely in the circular frame ends A A by 4 means of the spurred gearing a a on the outside of the two rims (l C engaging with two corresponding pinions 7) 7), lzeycdon a shaft (Z, jonrnalcd on the vertical ends of the baseframe A. The said wire-mesh separator B 4 5 has its meshes formed of different sizes. For instance, there are two circumferential groups of four wires each, as at c c, Fig. l, which arecloser together than the others, with only a very narrow space between their wires, upon which the tomatoes are first placed, as will be more fully shown hereinafter. The other spaces are larger and of a uniform size, about one and a quarter inches long by about three quarters of an inch wide. The circumferential wires are doubled and twisted to embrace the horizontal wires at their junction.

The frame ends A A are held together by horizontal rods 1) D, each rod provided with a nut r on the outer side of the frame and a nut j on the inner side to rigidly hold the frame ends.

There are a series of press-rollcrs journaled on the upper part of the frame ends A A. The lirst one, (i, is n'eferably fluted orcorrugated and placed so as to rotate about one and a half inches above the wire-mesh separator B. The second roller, H, is journaled. on the frame bebind the first one and made to impinge against the wire separator l3. The third roller, 1, will be journaled in the frame ends A A, so, also, as to touch the wire-mesh cylindrical separator l3 and held down to it by means of aspring 17, attached to the shaft of the roller I, and the opposite end of the spring fastened to the frame and a similar spring 7 being secured to the shaft of the roller H and to the frame A to hold the said roller down to the surface of the separator B. Thus the first roller, G, cracks the skins of the tomatoes as they are fed to it. The next roller, H, being close to the mesh separator B, squeezes all the matter through the separator B. The third roller, 1, which also touches the separator holds the tomatoes while the knife M inside of the scparatorcuts off the tomatoes from the skins and cores green or hard parts, the inside and juice from which drop into a semi-cylindrical-shapcd receiving-pan K, placed in the interior of the separator B and secured by any means to the frame ends A A. That shown in the drawings is, by strips of metal 7 5 secured to the said receiving-pan h; at one end and to the frame, while the opposite end of the pan is held by the two vertical strips It /2., attached to the pan and to the vertical portion of the frame. The outer end of the pan is lower than the opposite end, so as to afford an easy egress of the peeled tomatoes to a vat, (placed conveniently to receive same,) from whence to be carried up on an endless carrier to the operators table ready for canning.

The means for driving and rotating the rollers and separator may be described as follows: Rotary motion is imparted to the shaft (Z and its pinions 7) 6, keyed thereon, by a belt over the driving-pulley F from an engine or other source of power. The said pinions 7) 7) mesh into the teeth a a of the annular rings C C, and thus revolve the wire-mesh separator B, to which they are attached by half-inch halfround iron rods 1', let into an annular groove 721., formed on the inner portion of the two annular geared rims U C and clamped with a bolt .s' and nut 2f or any convenient manner at the ends.

The roller G is rotated by means of a pinion 91 on its shaft meshing into the teeth of one of the rims C under it. The roller H is rotated by means of friction on the separator B. The roller 1 is also rotated by means of its frictional impingement on the wire-mesh separator B.

It will be observed that there will be a ballbearing frame 11, with a series of balls w at every quarter of the circle to impinge on the side of the projection w of the rims C C and also on the outer edge of the frames A A to facilitate the action and rotation of the wiremesh separator on the rims C C during the operation of peeling the tomatoes. It will still further be observed that there will be four inside supporting-rollers L L on shafts f 1 each made to be journaled in bent bearings 2, attached to the circular frames A A, to run under the close wire portions (3 e of the wire-mesh separator to support the central part of the same and prevent it from sagging.

O is a rotating brush placed in the inside of the wire-mesh separator B on a shaft N, which is journaled on bearings 3, attached to the end frames A A, the bristles of the brush made to impinge against the inner surface of the wire-mesh separator B, which causes the said brush to revolve by frictional contact and remove any part or skins of the tomatoes adhering to the separator B.

The operation of the device may be further described as follows: The tomatoes are first scalded and then placed on the close vertical wires 0 c, of which there may be a number of groups. (Two are shown at Fig. 1.) Each tomato is given a slidingmotion and is pressed slightly by thelirst roller, (ur, enough to break it. The second roller, H, squeezes all the matter through the wire-mesh separator 3 except the green or hard parts, the core, and skin. The third roller, 1, holds the skin, core, and hard parts in place while the cutter h l inside of the separator B impinges against the inner side of it and removes the meat or internal part l the separator to separate the pulp of the toof the tomato, which drops down into a receiving-pan K and thence to an outside tank.

The skins pass over the outside of the separator B and are disengaged therefrom by the rotating brush 0, the bristles of which pass through the wire mesh of the separator and push the skins into a receptacle placed conveniently to receive them.

Having thus described my device and its advantages, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A machine for peeling tomatoes consisting of two circular cogged rims and two circular-shaped frames, a cylindrical-shapcd wiremesh separator secured to the rims, the latter made to rotate in the circular-shaped frames, a series of rollers journaled in the frames over the wire-mesh separator to press the tomatoes, and means to rotate the movable parts of the machine, substantially as specified.

2. A machine for peeling tomatoes consisting of two circular cogged rims and two circular-shaped frames, a cylindrical-shaped wiremesh separator secured to the rims, the latter made to rotate in the circular-shaped frames, a

series of rollers journaled in the frames over the wire-mesh separator, at different heights, a knife made to impinge on the inside of the separator to separate the pulp of the tomatoes from the skins, and means to rotate and operate all the movable parts of the machine.

3. A machine for peeling tomatoes consisting of two circular rims and two circularshaped frames, a cylindrical-shapcd wire-mesh separator-secured to the rims, the latter made to rotate in the circular-shaped frames, a series of rollers journaled in the frames over the wire-mesh separator at different heights above the separator, a knife made to impinge on the inside of the separator to separate the pulp of the tomatoes from the skins, gears attached to the rims, a shaft with two pinions keyed on the same, and made to engage with the gears on the rims to rotate the separator, a pulley on the raid shaft carrying a belt from the source of power, two rollers provided with annular projecting collars placed inside of the separator to support its wires, groups of circumferential wires placed close to each other on the separator, a receiving-pan placed inside of the separator to catch the pressed tomatoes, a retating brush journaled in the end frames, made to rotate within and impinge on the inside of the wire-mesh separator, groups of ball-bearings placed between each end frame and the rims of the separator to allow of the more easy rotation of the rims, substantially as specilied.

4:. A machine for peeling tomatoes, consisting of two circular rims, and two rigid frames, a cylindrical-shaped wire-mesh separator secured to the said rims, the latter made to rotate in the said corresponding frames, a series of rollers journaled in the said frames over the 'wire mesh separator at different heights above it, a knife made to impinge on the inside of mama matoes from the skins, gears attached to the rims, a shaft on end hearings with two pinions keyed on the same and made to engage with the gears on the rims, a pulley on the said shaft carrying a belt from the source of power to rotate the separator, two rollers in end hearings with annular projections or collars placed inside ol the separator to support its wires, groups of circumferential wires placed close to each other on the separator, a receivi [lg-pan placed inside of the separator to catch the tomato-juice,a brush journaled on the end l'ralncs made to rotate within and impinge on the in- (-l-EORGE (SPRAllAh i GLENN.

in presence ol------- l. Molinnzm, WM. Hence. 

